Historically, the supportability aspects of software have been given a very low priority in the overall
program requirements. This was particularly prevalent during the acquisition phase, where funding and timing
constraints were usually the top priorities. The result was inadequate product supportability, inadequate support
funding, lack of good field data, and no meaningful analysis and optimization of possible support alternatives.
In order to alleviate these historical concerns, this document presents a top-level structured overview of an overall
software support concept and the information associated with it. This document was developed by the
Supportability Subcommittee of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) G-11 Reliability, Maintainability,
Supportability, and Logistics (RMSL) Software Committee (G-11SW). G-11SW and its different Subcommittees
plan to develop several more detailed reports that together will form an integrated task guide for analyzing software
supportability concerns, developing a software support concept, and acquiring/conducting software support task
activities within the context of the system integrated logistic support process. The SAE G-11 RMSL Division has
several other Committees that are developing system level standards and guidelines that will reference the
software supportability reports as applicable. The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence efforts such as
documented in reference [DEFSTAN0060] and the United States military standards and handbooks related to
references such as [MILHDBK347], [MILPRF49506], and [MILHDBK502] serve as source material for this effort.
Development of this document has required dedication by a few participants and extended review by a wider
audience of potential users. The professionalism of all these individuals and the support they received from their
companies, governments, and other organizations is gratefully acknowledged.
Abstract
This document provides a framework for the establishment of a software support concept related to the support
and supportability of both custom-developed and Off-the-Shelf (OTS) software. This document provides
information needed to understand the support aspects that should be covered by a software supportability
program.
This document has general applicability to all sectors of industry and commerce and to all types of equipment that
contain software. The target audience for this document includes software acquisition organizations, logisticians,
developers, supporters, and customers. This document is intended to be guidance for business purposes and
should be applied when it provides a value-added basis for the business aspects of development, use, and
sustainment of support-critical software.
